Survivor Squad: Gauntlets
- November 15, 2015
- Endless Loop Studios
Get on Steam"Survivor Squad: Gauntlets" is a top-down, survival strategy game where players must lead a squad of survivors through increasingly challenging levels filled with zombies. Players can build and upgrade their base, recruit and train new survivors, and choose from a variety of weapons and skills to survive each level. The game features an endless mode for endless waves of zombies and a leaderboard system to compete with other players.
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Reviews
- Engaging gameplay that combines tactical squad management with real-time action, allowing for strategic planning and execution.
- The level editor is powerful and user-friendly, enabling players to create and share their own maps, significantly enhancing replayability.
- The game offers a variety of unique challenges and scenarios, keeping the experience fresh and exciting.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay and diminish the overall experience.
- The AI can be frustrating, with characters sometimes failing to respond effectively to commands, leading to unnecessary deaths.
- The story and character development are minimal, making it difficult for players to feel invested in the narrative.
- story64 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally viewed as weak, with many missions lacking a cohesive narrative and primarily focusing on zombie survival scenarios. While some players appreciate the fun and engaging nature of the missions, they note that the overall storyline is brief and linear, with a significant emphasis on user-generated content that allows for custom missions and scenarios. Despite its shortcomings, the game offers a platform for creativity through its powerful mission editor, enabling players to craft their own narratives within the gameplay.
“The game is fast-paced, not much micromanagement involved, story and character rich (it really feels like a zombie flick).”
“The developers have made quite a bit of them that act as a story, but what's really awesome is that you can create custom ones and share them or play in gauntlets made by other players like you!”
“It gives up the open-world, free roam format for a more story-driven, level or mission-based play style that possesses a much more detailed and linear story than the original.”
“The story is also pretty bad.”
“Story basically is 'zombies attack and you are killing them'.”
“Instead it is just a mission based campaign that I couldn't finish because of how annoyed I was at the material gathering mission.”
- gameplay44 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Survivor Squad: Gauntlets" is generally well-received, featuring engaging squad-based combat and strategic mechanics that require player reflexes and situational awareness. While some players appreciate the new elements and depth, others note the absence of progression and survival mechanics from the original game, alongside some bugs and a steep learning curve. Overall, the game offers a fun and challenging experience, particularly for fans of tactical gameplay, but it may benefit from further updates and refinements.
“Very nice squad combat game, with elements of Frozen Synapse and Jagged Alliance repackaged in gameplay that gives the player a lot of control, while still requiring some situational awareness and reflexes.”
“The gameplay elements allow for multitasking fun with the addition of auto-aiming when the infected are in the character’s line of flashlight.”
“When you completed a new map you felt like you had accomplished something, so it was the perfect storm of challenging and rewarding gameplay, with the scavenging element that appeals to the treasure hoarder in me.”
“There is no progression or survival mechanics like the first game :(”
“The current game mechanics are really basic, but I hope Endless Loop Studios will keep posting updates to level up the experience of this epic tactical zombie survival.”
“There are little differences between Gauntlets and the regular version of the game when it comes to the gameplay, but there are a few.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users describing them as basic, simplistic, or poor, often struggling to differentiate between textures. While some appreciate the minimalist and cartoonesque art style, others find it messy and lacking in detail, particularly in environmental elements. Overall, the graphics are seen as sufficient for gameplay but not particularly impressive or memorable.
“I really like the graphics, simple and clean, sort of cartoonesque.”
“It does tension and edge of your seat action perfectly and I really do love the top-down graphics style they have gone for.”
“The things I do like about the game are the new gadgets, weapons, new people graphics and more than just rain!”
“Audiovisuals are poor.”
“I don't mind bad graphics in general, but here it makes it hard to differentiate between doors and other types of textures.”
“Graphically this game is pretty bad to be honest.”
- music10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with players noting a lack of variety and repetitiveness in the soundtrack, which can detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the music's alignment with the game's action, many express a desire for more ambient and atmospheric tracks. Users also highlight the option to disable in-game music in favor of personal playlists, suggesting that improvements could enhance replayability.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“If the developers are planning on adding more tracks, then all the better, and if not, you can always disable the in-game music and play a custom playlist of yours for a more personalized experience.”
“On a note, but reiterating that it is in fact still early access, the music is not too varied and can get repetitive to listen to the same tracks over and over. If the developers are planning on adding more tracks, then all the better. If not, you can always disable the in-game music and play a custom playlist of yours for a more personalized experience.”
“There’s not much in terms of music here; I would like to see some ambient atmospheric soundtrack in the mix.”
“The music in the game matches the action; however, it is quite forgettable.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through community-created maps and gauntlets, allowing players to craft their own scenarios for endless gameplay variety. While many enjoy the diverse challenges, some players express a desire for a persistent world that reflects their actions, which could further enhance the replay value. Overall, the replayability is considered high, though there are suggestions for improvements to elevate the experience.
“Simple to learn, but gives plenty of replay value with community-made maps.”
“You can make your own 'gauntlets' (scenarios), which means endless replayability.”
“And the final point I have taken away is that although the game's replayability level is high, I would have liked a persistent world that my actions could affect.”
“There are many community-made gauntlets that are available for Survivor Squad, extending replayability and also difficulty.”
“With this feature in place, the replayability is drastically increased, although the build menu could desperately use some music.”
- stability5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while it functions well and has no major issues since launch, some players report minor glitches and bugs, such as sound issues and inconsistent mechanics. These distractions can detract from the overall experience, leading to a lack of recommendation from some users.
“Other than a sound bug I've encountered, it runs great on my OS of choice, Linux (I'm on Ubuntu).”
“What a buggy mess.”
“The learning curve is very steep, and there are a lot of glitches and things that distract from the fun gameplay. My doors never seem to fit in my walls, and other various issues make it hard to recommend this game.”
“Not because it's a bad game, or because it's too buggy to play, but because it isn't my kind of game.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as smart and funny, with a mix of absurdity and dark comedy, particularly in the interactions between characters and the quirky portrayal of zombies. However, some players find the jump scares to be more annoying than frightening, likening them to a comically ineffective elderly dog, which detracts from the overall experience.
“It is smart and funny.”
“The game forces 4 characters upon you, one of whom shares the same name as me, so I decided he'd be the one the others would use as meat shields. It's your job to make sure the survivors don't get mauled by the countless zombies holding knives and forks and rubbing their tummies. It's an equal job to make sure the zombies hiding in bedside cabinets don't rip out your giblets when you search them, which I found annoying as I saw them as cheap jump scares. They have the scare factor of an elderly dog covered in a bed sheet with eyeholes cut out, making a funny noise like it has no control over its bladder. If the jump scares in Survivor Squad were like an elderly dog, I'd want to move it swiftly before it urinates on my Persian rug.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game successfully creates an atmosphere of uncertainty that enhances its charm, particularly within the zombie genre. However, some players feel that the lack of an ambient soundtrack detracts from the overall experience.
“The situations are also great; this game achieves an atmosphere of uncertainty that really gives it a special charm, and I think more games in the zombie genre should strive to achieve this.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be significant, with some levels requiring over an hour to complete, making the developer-made campaign feel less casual and more demanding.
“Levels can get a little grindy, and the developer-made campaign is not a 'casual' experience; some levels will take over an hour to complete.”
“The grinding in this game feels excessive, making it hard to stay engaged with the story.”
“I found myself repeating the same tasks for hours just to progress, which really took away from the enjoyment.”
